Shattered Promises 6: Happy Endings
by JulieM
Summary: When Harm and Mac’s friends grow tired of the games between them, they decide to try their hand in a bit of matchmaking. Set after the events of 'SP 5: Getting To Know You.' COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

This is installment 6 in the Shattered Promises series.

1. Things Fall Apart.

2. Picking Up The Pieces.

3. (a & b.) Starting Over.

4. Getting It Right.

5. Getting To Know You.

6. Happy Endings.

7. Sleepless Nights.

8. See You In My Dreams.

9. Scattered Photographs.

10. Dreams Really Do Come True.

11. Celebrations.

12. Turning Full Circle.

Rating: Around a K, just to be on the safe side.

Disclaimer: JAG and its main characters belong to the genius who is DPB and to CBS. I don't make any profit from writing any of these fics, but simply get to exercise my overactive imagination every now and then. Please don't sue me, as I'm just a student with no money and way too much time on my hands:0)

Summary: When Harm and Mac's friends grow tired of the games between them, they decide to try their hand in a bit of match-making.

Spoilers: None. This isn't set at any particular point in the JAG timeline and there are no specific references to any episodes. Takes place about two years after Cathy comes to live with Mac.

Feedback, as always, is very much appreciated. Please don't hesitate to press the 'review' button!

OOOO

Shattered Promises 6: Happy Endings

Part 1

The team had congregated in the car park of Washington National Park, all dressed in their JAG team shirts and caps, all prepared to take part in a 'friendly' football game, which the Admiral had convinced them was to boost work morale and team spirit.

It was bad enough that they were there early on a Sunday morning, but Mac glanced over to the edge of the field, guiltily, where Cathy now watched, morosely.

When AJ had announced the match the week before, Cathy had desperately asked if she could take part, too. Mac unfortunately had to turn her down.

A couple of years before, Cathy had been the victim of a vicious attack by her Uncle, the only remaining family member that she had left. This attack had left her with numerous broken bones and a couple of nasty skull fractures, which ruled out any sports that involved high impact and therefore high injury risk.

Cathy had not been happy at all and Mac could tell that, at the moment, Cathy was still not any happier. She sat at the sideline with Lt. Singer, who was there as a back up player. Cathy meanwhile sat dressed in the JAG team shirt and cap, performing the 'role' AJ had appointed her to, as team mascot. She had not wanted to come that morning and probably wouldn't have, but for Mac's last minute promise that, if she was desperately needed, then she could play, but very, very carefully. AJ had agreed to this, as he knew how reluctant Lt. Singer would be to play. Right now, she was seated next to Cathy, doing her nails with a nail buffer. Cathy thought to herself that at least she stood a chance of playing, hoping that maybe the other team members might think twice about picking Singer over her.

About twenty minutes into the game, Alan Mattoni had twisted an ankle and Cathy saw her big chance.

"I'm getting too old for this," Alan complained to the rest of the group, as he hobbled off.

Cathy sat with a hopeful look on her face, as AJ approached her and Lt. Singer. He contemplated for a second, then announced, "Come on, Lauren."

Cathy sat, disappointed, for the next twenty minutes, as she watched Lt. Singer fumble the ball, time and time again. At one particular time, Carolyn Imes had passed her the football, which she promptly dropped in horror, because it had chipped one of her nails.

Finally, AJ had passed her the football, which had stubbed her fingers and was promptly dropped again. AJ called a time out, and then went to examine Singer's fingers.

"I think they're broken," she told him, to which he replied,

"No Lauren, they're just stubbed. Look, you can move them okay, can't you?"

"Yeah, well they hurt like hell! There's no way I'm playing anymore, I've already chipped the hell out of my nails…"

"Fine, Lauren," the Admiral conceded.

He looked over to Mac, who gave a subtle, but clear shake of her head from beneath her cap. AJ simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, come on! Please!" Cathy pleaded from the sideline. Mac turned away for a moment to consider what she was about to do, then turned back and nodded to Cathy.

Cathy let out a whoop, punching her arm in the air and rushing onto the pitch.

"Where do you want me?" she asked AJ.

He looked first at Mac and then turned to Cathy, telling her, "Go long," pointing to the far side of the field. Cathy could tell that this must have all been carefully orchestrated, because after that, the ball never seemed to come anywhere near her. If it did, another player would come forward to take it, so Cathy was getting no opportunity to play at all.

Finally, she'd had enough of it, so ran forward to where more of the action was happening. She was quickly sent back again, much to her frustration. It was obvious that they were going to lose, as the final minutes of the game wound down.

Finally, the ball came soaring right towards her and Cathy prepared to catch it, only to be blocked by Harm, who called, "Mine!" and caught the ball, running to score a touchdown.

Cathy just stood, open mouthed and looked towards Mac, who studiously avoided her eye. As she noticed some of the looks people were (unconsciously) shooting her way, Cathy kept her head down and hot tears of anger and embarrassment began to splash onto her cheeks. She furiously wiped them away as the game proceeded. Just before the final whistle, Mac gained possession of the ball. Cathy could see three members of the opposite team coming towards her.

"Mac!" she yelled, waving her arms, signaling that she was wide open and twenty feet from the score line.

Mac momentarily looked at her, but hesitated, then bent her head down again and was promptly tackled.

The final whistle sounded and the JAG team conceded a terrible defeat.

Overcome with anger and hurt, Cathy snatched the team cap off her head and threw it to the ground, then wrenched the team over-shirt off and threw that down too, finally stomping off through the park.

Mac pulled off her cap and wiped her brow, silently cursing herself as the rest of the team watched Catriona's retreating form.

OOOO

When Mac arrived home later, she found that Cathy was already back, in the bedroom with the door locked and the stereo playing, loudly. She gave a hard knock on the door, which went unheeded by Cathy.

"Cathy, will you open the door?" No answer. "Cathy, please. There's something I need to explain."

Cathy came forward and opened the door.

"Go on then," she told Mac, "Explain why you blew me off."

"I **_did not_** blow you off!" Mac protested, "I just didn't want you getting hurt."

"You just don't want me to live," Cathy told her, bitterly, "I should never have come out of that coma…"

"That's **_not_** fair and certainly **_not_** true!" Mac exclaimed

Cathy remained silent, as Mac continued, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you. You know that. You have **_no_** idea what an emotional wreck I was while you were in the coma. I promised you that I'd never leave you and never let anything happen to you. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it did."

"Yeah, but when you blanked me on that field, it **_really_** hurt Mac!" Cathy responded,

"When I went to live with Jim, I soon got used to being blanked by the other kids in my school. And when I got moved all over the world, I was used to failing to make friends, because I was the new kid. I got used to being the loner, the one left out, the last one to be picked to be on the sports teams. But, you know, I hardly minded, because they meant nothing to me and with anyone else I wouldn't care."

Cathy wiped away the tears spilling from her eyes as she told Mac,

"But I can't bear it from **_you_**, Mac. It really hurts, because you, Harm and the rest of JAG are all I have left."

Mac pulled her into her arms as she wiped away the tears herself.

"Oh, sweetie! I'm so sorry!" she told the girl.

OOOO


	2. Chapter 2

OOO

Part 2

Mac was chatting to Harriet in the kitchen, when Catriona came in to see them.

"Oh hey, sweetheart!" Mac exclaimed, "I didn't know you were coming into JAG today."

"AJ asked if I would come down on my lunch break. He wanted to run a couple of things by me."

"Cathy's tutoring the Admiral in Italian. He thought he could do with a bit of brushing up," Mac told Harriet.

"I didn't see you when I came in," Cathy told Mac, "Were you in court?"

"Yeah," Mac replied, "I had the Rawlings court marshal."

"Did you nail him?" Cathy questioned.

"Of course!"

"That's my girl!" Cathy congratulated her.

After pausing for a moment, Cathy concluded, "Well, I'd better be getting back to work, my lunch break's nearly over."

Giving Mac and Harriet a hug goodbye, Cathy then walked out of the bullpen. As she approached the elevator, she saw that the doors were just closing and so she broke into a run, to try and catch it.

"Hold the elevator, please!"

Just as the door was about to close completely, a hand came from nowhere and grabbed the door, pulling it back open. As Cathy walked inside, she turned to thank the stranger who had come to her aid. Her gaze was met by a pair of stunning, baby blue eyes. On closer inspection, Catriona found that they belonged to a young sailor who was tall and muscular and had dreamy, wavy brown hair. As the doors closed once more, Cathy graced him with one of her sparkling smiles.

As she exited JAG headquarters, she commented to herself, "Wow! A real, live gentleman! I didn't think there were any of those in my generation. Talk about a dying breed!"

As she walked across the courtrooms, there was a visible spring in her step.

OOOO

As Harriet made her way through the bustling bullpen, she let out a startled cry as she caught sight of the tall, muscular sailor.

"My gosh, Mikey! Hon, Bud and I didn't think that you docked for another week!"

"Hi Harriet! Sorry to catch you off guard, but we docked a bit early. The crew were hit by a nasty epidemic of food poisoning, myself included."

"Oh, my poor guy!" Harriet exclaimed, "I thought you were looking awful skinny. Look at you; you've lost quite a bit of weight, by the looks of it. We're going to have to feed you up while you're home on shore leave."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Mikey, startling them both.

"Harriet!" Bud joked, "Don't encourage him. You'll have him eating us out of house and home!"

"Buddy!" Mikey exclaimed, turning to Bud and enveloping him in a hug. Mikey now towered above his older brother, which Bud had always told him was a trait that he'd gained from their Mother. Bud and Mikey's Mother had left when they were both very young, so Mikey didn't really remember anything about her, but Bud had always told him that the more he was like their Mom and less like their Dad, the better. Master Chief Bud Roberts Sr. was a big bully of a man, whom both sons had fled from, as soon as they were old enough to.

As Bud, Harriet and Mikey continued to catch up, the Admiral walked out of his office and into the bullpen, closely followed by Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez.

"Admiral on deck!" he shouted and everyone stopped talking immediately and snapped to attention.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am well aware of the failure of last weekend's football game against the District Attorney's office. Even those who were unable to attend will have no doubt heard about the massacre that took place."

At this, there were a few stifled giggles around.

"However, I believe that my aim to promote a better working relationship between my staff members is not a lost cause and spurred on by a voice of great encouragement, as well as authority, I would like to present to you my latest initiative."

Separately, Harriet and Bud thought to themselves that they knew exactly who this 'voice of great encouragement and authority' was; Cathy!

The Admiral paused for a moment to build up the suspense in the bullpen, then announced,

"On the Eve of Independence Day, in exactly three weeks time, I will be holding a themed celebration at the American Embassy in Washington. Now, the theme has not been chosen yet, so I will be placing a suggestion box in the kitchen, which I hope you will all contribute to. At the end of the week, I will read the suggestions out and majority vote will determine the winner."

As the Admiral paused again, to look around and see what sort of an impact his words had left on his staff, his gaze fell on the tall sailor standing with Harriet and Bud.

"Mikey! Son, how are you doing? Great to see you again! Will you be available on July 4th Eve? Yes? Very good, you must come then. It'll be nice to get some of the younger generation there, too."

OOOO

That night, Mikey decided to drive up to Arlington National Cemetery, to visit the grave of his baby niece, Sarah. Bud and Harriet were out with little AJ, so Mikey climbed into his car and went by himself. Halfway there, he remembered that he'd have to stop and buy some flowers, so pulled over at a florist's. After that, he set off again, getting to the gates of Arlington just as it was getting dark.

There was a figure in a long coat walking out just as Mikey pulled in. That figure was Cathy, on her way home, after visiting the graves of her parents and family, who were also buried there. As always, she was still a little upset and was just blotting away some tears as Mikey passed her.

With the shadows beginning to spread in the dimming light, Mikey didn't even recognize her until he'd passed her and then was too far passed to stop. As he walked up to baby Sarah's grave, a couple of minutes later, he continued to think of the woman whom he'd run into at JAG and wondered why she had been so upset when he had passed her.

OOOO

It was the dead of the night when Catriona turned over in her little camp bed.

"What a weird dream," she thought to herself, the voice of Mac still reverberating in her ears. After a second, when the crying voice did not subside, Cathy realized that the crying was coming from the bed next to her.

"Oh, good grief, not again," she thought as she pulled back the bed sheets and put her to the floor.

"Mac, Hon, it's okay, I'm here," Cathy said aloud, as she sat on the side of Mac's bed.

As Mac woke up and realized where she was, she promptly burst into tears again.

"Shhh, it's okay," Cathy soothed her, as she cuddled up to Mac. It would be a long time before either of them got back to sleep again.

OOOO


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Just a quicknote to thank all those who've submitted a review. I continue to be delighted by your kind words of appreciation!

OOOO

Part 3

In the office the next day, Harriet noted the dark circles below Mac's eyes, not for the first time in the last couple of weeks. As Mac stifled a huge yawn, Harriet commented,

"I hope that means that you've had a busy couple of nights. So spill, did you get lucky?"

"I wish!" Mac exclaimed, "My insomnia's back and it's worse than ever."

"Oh, that's awful," Harriet exclaimed, "Do you know what's brought it on?"

"I'm not sure," Mac told her, "but it all seems to have started around the time that the Admiral first announced the Independence Day celebration."

At Harriet's confused look, Mac told her, "I know, it doesn't make sense at all."

Harriet spoke up, "You should ask the Commander to go with you. You two have become so much closer, lately."

Mac answered her, "Yeah, Harm's my best friend, but I think he'll be bringing someone else along."

As Harriet went to protest, Mac interrupted her, "Sorry Harriet, but I think I'd better get moving, Bud and I have to be in court soon."

With that, Mac made her escape, leaving an exasperated Harriet.

OOOO

Later that day, Harriet decided to tackle Harm. He was in his office, when Harriet knocked on his door.

"Come in," Harm responded. When he saw who it was, he smiled.

"Oh, hello Harriet! Come on in and sit down."

Sitting down, Harriet proceeded, "Hi Sir…sorry, I mean Harm. I was just wondering, who you are going to the Independence Day celebration with, only…"

"Well, I was planning on going by myself, but if you and your husband aren't going together, I wouldn't mind taking you. I'm sure we could make Bud really jealous!"

"Oh, no!" Harriet exclaimed, laughing, "I wasn't talking about me! I just wondered. I'm sure you've got your pick of pretty ladies who you could take…"

"No," Harm interrupted her, "I'm not even looking to see anyone right now. You know what I'm like with women."

"Sir," Harriet proposed, "I'm sure that the Colonel would be happy to go with you."

"No," Harm told her, "Mac doesn't want to go to a party with her best friend. She wants to be free to keep an eye out for eligible bachelors, play the field. There are going to be a lot of the Admiral's friends and business acquaintances there, a lot of his friend from his SEAL days."

With this, Harm changed the subject and Harriet conceded defeat.

OOOO

That night, as Cathy turned off the TV, she heard Mac's sobs as they came from her bedroom.

"Oh no!" Cathy thought to herself, "Here we go again. We've really got to do something about this, it's getting worse."

In the hallway, Cathy could make out the loud sobbing then, as she opened the door, heard Mac call out for Harm in her sleep. Cathy tried to negotiate her way through the dark room, without walking into anything. Again, when she was just a few feet from the bed she heard Mac cry out, again, "Harm, please!"

She gently sat on the side of the bed and stroked Mac's cheek gently.

"Mac, Hon? It's alright, I'm right here."

As Mac woke, Cathy told her, "It's only a dream. Everything is okay."

"No, it's not!" Mac continued to sob, "Everything's not going to be okay!"

"Mac," Cathy told her, "you really need to speak to Harm about this."

"I can't! He doesn't want me," Mac continued to cry as Cathy hugged her, near to tears herself.

OOOO

The next day, as Harm was going to be in court with Bud, Cathy walked around the congressional building as she waited for their session to end. Finally, the doors opened and the people began to flow out. Cathy finally spotted Harm and Bud, then made her way through the crowd to them.

"Hi Bud, Harm," she greeted them.

They looked surprised to see her.

"I didn't realize you were in the building, today," Harm told her.

"Yeah, I had a UN delegates meeting," she told them.

"You're really moving up in the world," Bud commented.

"Yeah, well I still find the paperwork really boring, no matter what language it's in! Bud, do you mind if I have a quick word with Harm?"

"Yeah, sure. I've got to go find our ride back to headquarters. I'll just be outside. Do you need a lift?"

"No thanks," Cathy told him, "I'm going to be here for the rest of the day."

She and Harm walked away from the rest of the crowd, to find somewhere more private to talk. Catriona managed to find an empty conference room, which she pulled Harm into, and then firmly closed the door.

"What's wrong?" Harm asked her.

"Harm," Cathy questioned him, "what's going on with you and Mac?"

"Is this about the Independence Day celebration? Harriet has already tried to persuade me to ask Mac to go with me, but I'm sure she won't want to. We're just friends."

"Is that all you two were in La Jolla?"

"What? Mac and I agreed that we would just try out being friends again, before we moved onto something more."

"Harm, that was months ago, I think that Mac might be ready for a little something more than that."

"Mac isn't interested in me that way. I've already put my feelings on display, told her how I feel. She isn't interested."

"Have you seen the state she's in right now?"

"She's been a little tired at work, had a bit of insomnia she said, but she insisted that it's nothing."

"Harm, Mac's having a really hard time dealing with this."

"Dealing with what? Mac knows, I've always told her that she can talk to me about anything. If she had a problem that she couldn't deal with, she would come to me with it."

"You're not the one who gets her back to sleep every night, when she wakes up crying."

Harm was quiet for a moment, as he tried to comprehend what Cathy was trying to tell him.

"Mac wakes up crying in the night?"

"Uh-huh," Cathy told him, "she cries in her sleep too. And she cries out, she cries out for **_you_**."

"Me? Why does she call out for me?"

"Why do you think, you big dumb-ass! Mac thinks that you don't want her!"

"That's not true! It never has been. I spend every minute of every day thinking about her."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

As Harm searched for the right words to use, Cathy continued, "In La Jolla, everything seemed to be going right. You did everything together…you went swimming together and in the water, when Mac lost her strength, you were the one supporting her, holding her up. Well, now she flagging, Harm. She's floundering, she's going under and who's going to save her from drowning? **_What are you going to do Harm?"_**

With her point made, Cathy gave Harm a searching look, then left him to think about what she had told him.

Cathy walked out of the building, to go and get some lunch from the deli around the corner. Mikey was also out front, waiting for Harm and Bud, who had asked him to pick them up, since Harriet had the family car and Harm's was in for servicing. Mikey noticed Cathy walking down the front of the court steps and went to approach her, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Mikey followed her line of sight to a little boy, only about 18 months old or so, playing on the bottom step in front of the building. Mikey saw Cathy smiling as the little boy stared open-mouthed in fascination, then clambered, trying to reach a pigeon that had perched on the banister. However, Cathy's smile faded when she saw the boy starting to jump up and down on the step, getting closer and closer to backing off it with each jump. She quickly rushed down the steps towards him, but not fast enough, as the little boy's foot slipped down the step and he went down, landing on the stone step and ground below. Cathy was quick to crouch down and scoop the boy into her arms, as he let out a piercing wail. The little boy didn't seem to be too injured, just a little bit shocked and bruised. Cathy rubbed the sore bump on his head and murmured to him comfortingly, when the boy's mother rushed over. Cathy handed the boy over, telling the mother what had happened. The woman quickly thanked her then carried her sobbing child away. Mikey stood in amazed silence. This was one special woman, he thought to himself. She had swept in and done just the right thing, without even having to think about it. Mikey was still standing, open-mouthed, when Bud approached him, a few seconds later.

"Sorry I've been so long, but I was stopped by Congressman Richards. Harm's just inside, talking to someone. He said that he'd be out in a minute. Do you want me to bring the car around?"

"Okay," Mikey agreed and with that, Bud asked him to keep an eye out for Harm, then set off to get Mikey's car. However, by the time Mikey had turned back around, the pretty young woman he had run into in JAG headquarters had disappeared.

OOO

The whole of the staff were there the next week, when the Admiral opened the suggestion box and read the suggested themes. After conferring with Catriona, who was there to tutor AJ, as she did every week, he read out the three best themes.

"The first suggestion is, Winter Wonderland."

Several hands shot up, including Harriet's, who had probably submitted the suggestion.

Next came 'Grease,' to which Singer's hand shot up and everyone either groaned or sniggered in amusement.

"Finally, we have 'Masquerade.'"

All of the remaining hands, the majority of hands, were quickly raised and Harriet whined plaintively to Bud, "Oooo! I want to change my vote!"

Catriona giggled quietly as she saw what a success her suggested theme had been.

When Harriet saw Mac in the coffee room, later that day, she asked Mac about Cathy's plans for that coming Friday.

OOOO

"Mac, do you think Cathy might be able to baby-sit for me on Friday night?"

"I'm sorry Harriet," Mac apologized, "but Cathy was planning on going up to Arlington on Friday night, so that she could spend some time with her family. It's going to be pretty busy come Sunday and we'll have the Independence Day celebration on the Saturday night…"

As Mac spoke, the wheels started to turn in Harriet's head. She'd been toying about with an idea for a few days now and she saw the perfect chance to put it into operation.

"Is Mikey not able to watch little AJ for you?" Mac continued.

"No, he was saying about going out with some friends of his who are in town."

"Well, I'm sure that if you really need her, Cathy will cut her plans short…"

"Oh, no! It's all right, Mac. I'll have a talk with Mikey and see if we can sort something out."

With that, Harriet retreated, to put some final touches to her plan.

OOOO


	4. Chapter 4

AN Going out of town tomorrow, so won't have time to post then.I'm taking my trusty thumb-drive with me, though so I'll try my best to post regularly after tomorrow.

OOOO

Part 4

The fates (mainly Harriet!) finally conspired to let Mikey and Cathy meet on the Friday night, when they were both up at Arlington National Cemetery, visiting their loved ones.

Beforehand, as Cathy let herself into her and Mac's apartment, she called out,

"Honey, I'm home!"

"Hey there," Mac greeted her, as she came out of the bedroom, "How did the summit go?"

"Excellent!" Cathy told her, "All of the ambassadors were really impressed. Best of all, all the countries finally came to a decision that will benefit all parties. I even got to talk to the Nigerian ambassador about the problems of anti-personnel mines and the poaching and ivory trade in Africa. He was really interested in what I had to say and really knew his stuff. He's really smart, used to be one of the presidents of a UN peacekeeping force in the Congo."

"Wow," Mac commented, enthusiastically.

"And he told me that he knows a lot of journalists who would be really interested in interviewing me. You get that? ME! Somebody wants my story! And not in the whole 'family context,' either! They want to know about my life in Africa."

"What a star!" Mac exclaimed, "They obviously see you for the passionate, intelligent, wonderful girl that I do, the one you truly are."

Cathy gave Mac a big hug, then told her, "I'd better get going, I still need to get up to Arlington before dinner. If you give me the cleaner's receipt, I'll pick up our dresses on my way back."

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

At Cathy's assurance, she reminded her, "Just be sure to check the dresses over first, before you pay him. We don't want there to be any scorch marks on our dresses."

"Okay," Cathy replied, before heading out to the elevator.

OOOO

Bud, Harriet, Mikey and little AJ stood at baby Sarah's grave in Arlington National Cemetery, all near tears as they gave thanks for being blessed by a little angel, sent by God, but taken again after only eight months.

"I don't know why we could only be blessed with such a short time with our baby girl," Bud said, "but the Lord must have a greater plan for her, up in heaven, under His watchful gaze."

Harriet nodded and sniffled, blotting her tearful eyes with a sodden tissue.

"Yeah," Mikey agreed, "God has a special purpose for my little angel-niece."

At this point, little AJ got particularly upset and Mikey could tell by the way he kept rubbing his eyes that he was really tired.

"Okay, buddy," Mikey told him, lifting him up into his arms, "Why don't we go and get you all strapped up in your car seat while Momma and Daddy say 'night 'night to baby Sarah?"

A grateful Bud and Harriet then began to arrange the flowers they had brought, in a vase in front of baby Sarah's gravestone. After a few minutes, they turned around as they heard the sound of footsteps echoing off the pathway, breaking the evening silence.

They saw that it was Catriona, who had her arms full with a big bouquet of assorted flowers and a smaller one of peach roses.

"Good evening Bud, Harriet," she greeted them.

"Hi, sweetie," Harriet replied, pulling Cathy into a motherly hug, "Bud and I didn't expect to see anyone else up here, with Sunday being July 4th."

"Yeah," Cathy replied, "neither did I, but since we're going to be so busy tomorrow, with the celebration then Independence Day on Sunday and all, I thought I'd better come up tonight."

"Harriet and I thought the same," Bud told her.

"Yeah, well, I still might come up, since it's the anniversary tomorrow."

She turned to admire how well the tiny grave of Baby Sarah was attended.

"These are beautiful roses," Harriet commented to her, admiringly.

"Yeah," Cathy told them, "they were my Mom's favorite."

She paused, then threaded out one of the long stems and turned to Harriet and Bud.

"May I?" she asked them, gesturing towards the vase of flowers on the headstone.

"Please do," Harriet told her.

Cathy bent down and arranged the rose amongst the other flowers.

"A beautiful rose for a beautiful little girl."

She turned and gave Bud and Harriet a hug, then picked up her flowers and walked up further, to where her own family was buried.

Just as they were turning to go, Mikey walked up to Bud and Harriet.

"AJ's sound asleep in his car seat," he told them, "Were you talking to that girl up there? I ran into her in JAG, the first day I was back."

"That's Cathy. She lives with Mac. She and Harm are her guardians," Bud told him.

"I never knew that she knew Harm and Mac…I saw her outside the court, too. Was she there with Mac?" Mikey asked.

"No, she works there, some of the time," Harriet told him.

"She doesn't look that old. She has a full time job?"

"She's a full time student at the Washington Language Center. She translates at governmental meetings. She's the same age as you, nineteen."

"Who is she laying flowers for?" Mikey asked

"Poor child," Harriet empathized, "she was just sixteen when she lost her parents. Her entire family was killed when that hurricane hit Florida three years ago. She's the only one left, out of a family of twenty-one. I'd forgotten that it was the anniversary tomorrow."

"That's awful!" Mikey exclaimed, softly.

"That's right," Bud recalled, "The day before Independence Day."

"Why don't we stick around here," Harriet suggested, "Perhaps she'd like a lift home."

OOOO

Cathy exited the dry cleaners with the dresses, in plastic laundry bags, over her shoulder. Bud and Harriet had dropped her off on their way home. She had been amazed when they had introduced the blue-eyed sailor, whom Cathy had run into at JAG, as Bud's brother, Mikey.

Things were definitely looking up for the ball the next night, after Harriet had told Cathy that Mikey would be there too.

"Well, I'll see you all there, tomorrow night," Cathy had bid them goodnight.

Mikey had given her one of those heart-stopping smiles as she had closed the car door. Yep, tomorrow was definitely looking up!

OOOO

As Cathy let herself into the apartment, she left the dresses over the back of the couch, when Mac walked in from the bedroom.

"Did you have any trouble at the cleaners?" She asked.

"Nope," Cathy told her.

"Was your visit to the cemetery okay?"

"Yeah…it wasn't any easier, but I think it went okay. I ran into Bud and Harriet. They gave me a ride home."

Cathy smiled to herself as she remembered the heart-stopping smile Mikey had given her.

"Hey," Mac suddenly asked her, "what are you smiling about?"

"Uhhh…nothing."

Mac gave her a look, as if to say, "Yeah right!"

"By the way, you never told me that Bud had a younger brother," Cathy confronted Mac.

"Who, Mikey?" It clicked with Mac what Harriet had been up to, during the week before.

"He's really cute, isn't he!" she grinned to Cathy

"Yeah! It looks like I'm going to have a date for the ball, after all! Now, we just need to find you one."

Mac however, expressed great doubt about this, so Cathy just hooked a comforting arm through Mac's and told her, "C'mon, let's go and try our dresses on!"

OOOO

Mac and Cathy stepped from the hired vehicle and paused at the entrance to the embassy. First, they slipped on the porcelain masks they had brought with them and made their way up to the party. Harm had already arrived, along with Bud, Harriet and Mikey and stood chatting to the Admiral.

"Ladies," AJ told them as they approached, "you look stunning this evening."

"Thank you, AJ. You look dashing, as usual," Cathy told him.

"I believe that the band is finished warming up. May I have the first dance?" He asked, holding out his hand to Cathy.

She took it and AJ walked her over to the dance floor. Mikey watched in complete amazement, completely gob-smacked. She did look stunning, like a dream, in fact. Her long, curly hair was left to spiral down her back, but her bangs were held back off her face by a couple of sparkling butterfly clips, with wings that fluttered in the gentle breeze. Her dress was a strapless, floor length, sweeping satin number, in baby blue, which hugged her figure in all the right places. Mikey quickly diverted his gaze as Harriet looked over at him.

"Man," Mikey sighed to himself, "I can't wait until we can finally take these masks off."

OOOO


	5. Chapter 5

OOOO

Part 5

It was quarter to eleven and Harm and Mac sat with the Admiral, eating their meal. Mac silently thanked her decision not to buy a full-length facemask, like Carolyn Imes had done, who sat at the next table, constantly pulling at her mask, so she could get food underneath it to her mouth.

"I'll die of starvation before this night is up," she had complained to them.

When they were done, the Admiral had stood and offered his hand to Mac.

"Well," Mac thought to herself, "I'm not going to sit here all night, waiting for Harm to make a move."

She gratefully accepted the Admiral's offer.

"As she walked away, Harm silently cursed himself, "For goodness sake, man! Pull your head out of your six!"

As the song just about came to an end, he downed the rest of his drink and prepared to make his move. He walked out onto the dance floor as the orchestra slowed.

"I'm sorry to cut in," he told the Admiral, "but I was wondering if I'd have the pleasure of a dance with Mac?"

The Admiral gestured for him to proceed. Harm turned to Mac, dressed in a floor length, silky red dress and a red ribbon choker around her neck and held out his hand.

"How about it, Mac? May I have this dance?"

Mac smiled inwardly as she nodded and Harm took her into his arms.

"Finally," She thought to herself, contentedly, "things are finally going somewhere."

But Mac had just no idea just how far this night would go.

OOOO

Later that evening, at quarter to twelve, Harm and Mac were still on the dance floor and had now been joined by two other couples, Harriet and Bud and Cathy and Mikey. As the song finished, Cathy and Mikey returned to the tables to talk and rest their weary feet.

The other two pairs remained, but after a few minutes, Harm whispered in Mac's ear,

"How about we take this somewhere more private?"

Mac nodded, so Harm took her hand and led her to the balcony doors.

As they left, Harriet commented to Bud, "I'm so glad those two have become so much closer. They've been practically joined at the hip for the last hour."

"Yeah, and what about Cathy and Mikey?" Bud added.

Harriet gave a smile and nod of approval.

Outside, on the balcony, Harm and Mac stood, hand in hand, listening as the crowd inside started to count down to the midnight unmasking. Harm held Mac close as midnight rang out and then removed her mask, and she his.

"Happy 4th of July, Sarah," he told her, softly, as he lowered his lips to hers.

OOOO

At the table inside, Mikey, Cathy, AJ, Carolyn Imes, Bud and Harriet sat around the table, engaged in an excited conversation.

"Wait a minute," Cathy paused, "Where are Harm and Mac?"

"Bud and I saw them head out onto the balcony. They must have wanted to discuss something. I'd give them some time," Harriet told her.

"About time," Mikey and Cathy suddenly came out with, at exactly the same moment.

"You said it!" The Admiral agreed.

OOOO

Harm and Mac gently swayed together to the faint beat of the music coming from inside the embassy. Harm cupped Mac's cheek in one hand, staring deeply into her eyes, while his other hand rested on the small of her back.

"Mac," Harm told her, "I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to get my act into gear. I don't know how you ever got the idea that I didn't want you, that I couldn't love you. But nothing could be further from the truth. I've spent every day I've known you doing just that. From the second we met in the rose garden, even before that, because even when I was young, I used to think about the person I would eventually spend my lifetime loving, growing old with…and never in my wildest dreams did I think that it would be as wonderful a person as you."

As Mac listened, a single tear dripped down her cheek and Harm brushed it away with a gentle wipe of his thumb.

"I'm sorry I was scared of throwing away the best friendship of my life to move onto something more with you."

At this, Mac went to protest, but Harm held up his hand to silence her.

"Please Mac, let me try to get this out. You know me, if I don't just out with it now, I might never."

"Okay," Mac conceded quietly, "go ahead, Harm."

"Then," Harm told her, "I realized that I would never throw our friendship away, that it would always be there, that it always has been. Anyway, I know we said that we would test the waters before we moved onto anything serious, that we'd take things slowly, but I can't even start to contemplate the rest of my life without you in it."

At that moment, Mac was too busy staring into Harm's deep blue eyes to notice his left hand dipping into his jacket pocket.

"Mac," he continued, "I loved you every day for the last six years that we've been partnered together at JAG, hell, everyday of my life, because you're the one who I'm destined to be with."

Mac's mouth dropped open as Harm dropped down on one knee and brought forward a small, square jewelry box in his left hand.

"Mac," he continued, "there's nothing more I'd love more than to wake every morning with you in my arms."

He paused for a second and looked deep into Mac's brimming eyes.

"Sarah," he asked, "will you marry me?"

Mac cried tears of pure joy as she gathered herself together enough to respond,

"Yes. Yes! There's nothing I want more!"

OOOO

OOOO Continued in SP 7: Sleepless Nights OOOO


End file.
